


Quite a Catch

by z0mbieshake



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Aphrodisiacs, M/M, Mermaids, Neverland (Once Upon a Time), Origin Story, Secret Admirer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-25
Updated: 2014-12-25
Packaged: 2018-03-03 11:17:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2848940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/z0mbieshake/pseuds/z0mbieshake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Felix is a merman outcast and unwisely falls in love with the most dangerous being on Neverland</p>
            </blockquote>





	Quite a Catch

**Author's Note:**

> I would love to say that this was some Christmas-themed story. Unfortunately, that's not the case. But there will be mermaid sex.

_"He isn't one of us."_

_"He's a merman. He's a curse."_

_"Leave!"_

Mermen were cursed creatures, a dark omen to mankind and mermaids. _Who even thought of that?_ Felix had done nothing wrong other than being born male in a race of women. He could still remember the face of his mother, under the moon of the sacred night the Sea Goddess Ursula had gifted to the mermaids for hope and procreation, _seething with hatred_ as the baby she delivered was a _boy_. By the time Felix had become aware of the world around him, he was already at the bottom of the sea, alone.

"I just want to play," Felix begged the maidens flitting around the Mermaid Lagoon.

Cruel whispering circulated amongst the mermaids, eyeing him with contempt and smirking as if the boy couldn't hear them. Before he was even aware, a piece of coral sailed through the air and struck him in the face. He cried out as sharp pain lanced through his cheek, traveling up the bridge of his nose and erupting with blood as he whipped the coral out from the fresh wound. He whimpered pathetically as the mermaids howled at his misery, their laughter sounding like endless hail pelting against a restless sea.

Mermaids were cruel beasts. Felix knew that well enough. And someday, he'd have to be the same. He stared at his reflection for hours through a mirror that he had found lodged in the beaches of Neverland. The healing waters hidden in the grottos beneath the island closed up his skin but left a nasty scar across his face reminding him to accept his solitude.

_It was just so hard_.

He couldn't stop himself. He'd been alone for so many years, _decades_ , a lost boy in a sea of vicious creatures. At best, Felix would steal trinkets here and there from the mermaids, convincing himself that they were gifts. The best thing he stole was a pearl which concealed his location, letting him travel up the shallow rivers to observe other races without a chance of the Shadow of Neverland swooping in and ripping him to pieces. None of them accepted him, most couldn't even speak, but it was nice to know that there were more than just the Mermaid Lagoon.

Till one day, everything changed. He could hear the shrieks and hisses from his hideout beneath the island. He swam out from his grotto, weaving through a narrow, hidden path covered in moss and sea plants, and exited out the east side of the island. He could see the water by the cove rippling with movement, stirring up the tides as mermaids fled from the lagoon screaming in fear. Too curious, Felix decidedly went the opposite way, approaching the lagoon slowly.

"What are you doing, you idiot!" One mermaid hissed as she knocked past Felix, "He'll kill you!"

_He?_ The threat of death didn't even register in Felix's mind. He swam his way over to the lagoon, keeping his movements as slow and unnoticeable as possible as he clutched the pearl hanging from his neck and begged for its magic to work.

Hiding behind pinkish shale, Felix peeked out from the top and saw him right away, a boy clothed in green with hair like sand and eyes like the stormy sky. He gaped just a little, blown away by the first boy like him he'd ever seen, minus the tail. He almost wanted to swim out and greet the boy till he noticed the mermaids by the beach, _turned to stone_. Judging by their fawning gestures and love struck faces, they must've tried to woo the boy only to be subjected to his cruelty. Felix sunk back into the water, watching the green-clothed boy wander the edge of the beach kicking at shells and trinkets the mermaid had left behind.

Felix slinked in closer, clutching to a rock as leverage towards the cliff walls, accidentally breaking off a protruding chunk, and _screaming_ when he realized that he had been clinging onto another petrified mermaid, frozen in mid-escape and sunk to the bottom. Felix froze again when he saw the boy through the water, staring at the surface trying to make out the source of that muted cry.

Covering his mouth, Felix swam deeper, using the depths of the water to hide his form as he swam away, his first encounter with the boy who'd change his life.

 

Felix wasn't a stalker. He really wasn't. There was just something so _magnetic_ about this boy that Felix couldn't let go. He heard the other murmuring his name, spreading gossip about the ominous skull shaped structure that sprung from the sea when the boy arrived: _Peter Pan_. _He made a deal with the Shadow._

No one encountered the Shadow and lived. It was his job to drive away evil creatures and prevent them from tainting Neverland. They all assumed he was some omnipotent being, beyond the needs of living creatures. It was clear they were wrong; he got _bored_ and he made a sinister deal with a human to cure the stagnation.

Neverland was facing obliteration. The rules had been broken, twisted on its head and fed to the wolves. The mermaids all considered going back home and hoping their exile could be revoked. Felix didn't mind. Felix could adapt. And to be honest, Peter Pan was the best thing that had happened in decades.

The pearl was indeed successful in hiding his existence. Twice did he see Pan strike down a hiding faun or pixie while his magical signature remained perfectly concealed. But Felix wasn't a stalker, he was simply curious. Although, he had a hard time denying his infatuation when the boy suddenly stripped off his clothes and stepped into the lagoon, materializing a chunk of soap and scrubbing himself down.

Felix swallowed at the sight, just barely hiding behind the pinkish shale stone of the former Mermaid Lagoon. It killed him not being able to approach, the stone mermaids still sitting at the edges of the lagoon a harsh reminder of what would happen to him. He'd never seen anyone like that boy before, at most just foolhardy grown men accidentally sailing into Neverland waiting to be torn to pieces by mermaids but _never_ _a boy_ _like him._

Instead, just moment away from being able to reach out and touch Pan, Felix skirted to the edge and stole his tunic from the beach, diving into the water with just the tiniest splash. Peter flinched at the sudden disturbance in the water, scanning the world around him but sensing nothing in his presence, "Who's there?" He called out.

Felix heard him from beneath the water, his voice was deep but still had a child-like tone to it. Smirking, he returned to his hideout beneath the island with the tunic in hand, finding himself too happy as he stretched it out in his hands and nailed it into the moss wall of the grotto.

There was something about Peter, something _beautiful and extraordinary_ that Felix wanted to sink his talons into and pull him away into the depths of the ocean, into the darkest waters where he could see nothing but _him_. The boy was cruel, kind, uncontrollable, reserved, _dominating_ , the king of Neverland without any parallel and Felix could not get enough. He was too scared to approach, knowing what would happen to him but he figured a death by Peter's hands would be a good death. He'd rather Pan be his end than getting skewered by a pirate after a failed seduction as most mermaids went.

And then one night, while Felix rested in his grotto, counting his plentiful collection of Peter memorabilia (He's not a stalker by the way), _he heard laughter_. Peering up at the moss, Felix climbed up the wall and pressed his ear against the stone. He could hear it: _Music_ , laughter, feet trampling the ground in dance. Felix left his grotto, dipping beneath the stone and surfacing by the beach, peering at the flickering lights coming from the woods, torches being swung around to the rhythm of music. Entranced, Felix climbed up on a stone for a better vantage point, eyes shimmering as he saw the multitude of boys dancing around and _Peter Pan_ in the center, playing his pan pipes, skipping along to the jaunty beat.

_Peter welcomed someone in_. All this time, Peter had done nothing but slaughter the indigenous creatures of Neverland, asserting his position as king. This was the first time Felix had ever seen Pan welcoming new people in, specifically boys just like him. _Almost like him._ His tail flapped excitedly at the thought of joining those boys, an honorary member of whatever their group was called, serving Pan directly instead of merely driving hiding clans in Neverland towards Pan for extermination.

But how could he get close? He hadn't thought of this till after he got too excited. He climbed off the stone, wading through the water thinking about all the rivers in the area. It didn't appear that any of them went through the camp and he wouldn't want to simply rush in lest they mistaken him for a hostile mermaid. Gasping, Felix dove beneath the island once more, returning to his grotto and searching through a chest of miscellaneous belongings, simple gifts that were left behind with him at the bottom of the ocean, tossed into the water out of spite from his mother.

_The Highest Tide_ , Felix lifted the damp parchment, squinting as he made out the blurred title. The one night when the moon was in the sky and the tide was at its highest, he would be granted legs. He could be a normal boy just once. _He wouldn't be alone anymore_.

But more importantly, he could be with _him._

 

The boys were far easier to hide from, most of them unable to catch a rabbit right in front of them. _Idiots, hunting is easy_. Felix grumbled silently as he snacked on an eel he had caught. These boys didn’t deserve to serve Pan; they were utterly incompetent! If Felix was amongst them, if Felix was their leader, he'd set them all straight with his decades of solo hunting experience.

Felix laid on his stomach upon a rock, sighing exasperatedly as the boy-with-missing-fingers completely walked past the boar literally sitting in the open fields because he was too busy searching the bushes. Twisting together some kelp, Felix wove a classic mermaid snare and hurled it at the boar, binding it to the tree. At the boar's snarling gasps, the incompetent hunter rushed towards it, cheering as if _he_ caught the beast.

Felix dove behind the stone, hiding but unafraid, knowing this boy couldn't catch him regardless. But, he wanted to know what the boy would think knowing that a merman was around. The finger-deficit boy, after slashing the beast's throat, picked apart the snare, examining the kelp with growing curiosity. He approached the coast cautiously, still holding his spear. After just a brief moment of searching, the boy turned and left with his catch, rushing with slight urgency back to camp. Felix wasn't sure what to make of it. Was the boy scared? Excited?

He didn't think much on it, settling on the boy just being an idiot and swimming off into the ocean.

When night fell, the dances began as they always did. Felix could hear the music, the trampling of feet sending vibrations all the way down to his grotto. Felix figured he should've been more careful, one of the more competent hunters could cut him down before he even got a chance to talk with Pan. He peered to the moon at the thought. The moon would be at its fullest in just a few days. He could afford to be a little careless. He'd been waiting weeks for this and it was finally going to pay off.

He stretched upon his rock, tail slapping lightly to the beat of the song. He found himself humming the tune and he fought the urge to sing along. Singing was a _mermaid thing_ and he was a boy, damn it, not a mermaid.

If Pan asked him to sing, would he sing? _Maybe._

Rustling in the bushes distracted him slightly. No one ever wandered from camp during the dances. This was new. Felix dove behind the rock, watching as the bushes are rustled along the eastern lip of the beach. Clicking his tongue, Felix backed away from his rock and approached the western side, moving towards the ocean and out from this restraining bay. He kept close to the sand, nearly crawling against it with his belly to conceal himself in the shallow water. Almost immediately when he waded to the right, he scraped his stomach against a barrage of hooks in the sand. Hissing, Felix pulled back, scrambling to rip the hooks out only for a heavy net to be thrown over his head.

"We got him!" Felix recognized the amateur hunter from before, cheering as he dove from the eastward bushes.

Three other boys stepped out, older boys with scars claiming their years of experiences without words, one with curly red hair, a blond, and a dark-skinned boy all armed to the teeth with proper hunting equipment.

"Well shoot, he was right," The dark-skinned boy commented, "Honestly, I'm surprised."

The remaining two reeled Felix in, holding the heavy net still as Felix thrashed, hissed, and clawed at them with his talons. They tied the ends of the net, securing Felix in the net and rolling him onto a makeshift wagon.

"I'm going to be honest," The dark-skinned one commented, swinging his axe onto his shoulder, "I thought for sure this was just going to be a giant tuna."

Felix grit his teeth, fangs grinding against each other. He was _not_ a giant tuna.

The blond peered back, rubbing at a scratch Felix had left on his arm, "Does something seem a little… _off_ about this mermaid? Like, she's sort of missing something around _here_ ," He gestured lazily at his chest.

"I am not a mermaid!" Felix hissed, startling all the boys at once.

"She can talk!?" The one missing fingers remarked.

He wasn't a _she_ either but that was not the point. Felix shook off that remark and pulled at the ropes violently, "I'm a boy just like you."

The blond chuckled, "Mermaids are all female."

"She does look a little masculine though," The curly-haired one remarked, turning back briefly before returning to the wagon.

The dark-skinned one said nothing. From the lipped smile on his face, Felix could tell that he was fully aware that Felix was a _merman_ but opted against saying anything to amuse himself. At the gesture, Felix hissed at him through the net, narrow fangs growing in his mouth and pupils turning to slits. He was immediately silenced as they breached the camp, the light of fire blinding him and drying his flesh.

The boys howled in excitement as the net was hauled to the center, hooked up to a pulley, and suspended in the air, dangling Felix for all to see. He gripped at the net, trying to rip it with his talons, hissing at the spectators as they laughed at him. All of them were armed, spears, knives, bows, and Felix was already imagining the worst fates for himself.

"So you're the mermaid who's been watching us," The smooth voice echoed throughout the camp, silencing all the boys as the magical boy swept into the clearing like a breeze, "I thought I dealt with your…" He eyed Felix's face and then his chest, "You're a boy?"

His statement was immediately met with a snicker from the dark-skinned boy.

"Yes," Felix replied, frozen in the presence of Pan. He had a million things to tell him, all those fantasies of finally being able to meet the boy that changed his world, but he was too afraid to shatter the quiet peace between them. He swallowed harshly, staring into Peter's unblinking eyes, "My name's Felix. I want to join you. I want to be a part of your group."

Pan cocked his head, devouring him with a look that would've made him flinch away if it wasn't for the net. His eyes drifted down to his chest before he reached forward, grasping onto the pearl dangling from a braid of dried kelp and jerking back violently, ripping it clean from his neck. Felix flinched but didn't fight, watching as Pan studied the ornament more closely.

A smirk on his face, coy, sinister, and utterly unnerving, "He says he wants to join us," His tone sounded mocking, not declarative, "He says he wants to be a part of the Lost Boys," The cruel snickers of the boys encircling them only served to make Pan sound more menacing, "Do the mermaids really think they could trick me with a _boy_?"

"Trick y-" Felix gasped as the net suddenly fell, his heavy tail crashing to the ground and stirring up the dirt. The net came apart on its own, ropes lashing his torso down and restraining him on his stomach, tail thrashing against the dirt helplessly.

Pan took a step back, seeing Felix as nothing more than a predator turned prey, his attempts to worm his way into Pan's camp masterfully foiled, "Take him to the eastward cave, the one with the crystals on the ceiling. Toss him in a pit and fill it with water so he won't dehydrate. I've always wanted a mermaid for a _pet_."

_Pet!?_ He was really telling the truth. The mermaids had nothing to do with him; he just wanted to be a boy like them. Felix lifted his head from the net, one last attempt to convince Pan, "I just want to join you!"

"And for trying to deceive me," Pan hummed contemplatively, staring down his long, shimmering tail, "Cut off his left fin so he can never swim straight again."

Desperation quickly dissolved all of Felix's coherent pleas, turning his screams into frantic wails as the older boys closed in on him, pinning him down on the dirt. His tail thrashed violently, whipping a few boys hard enough to knock them to the ground. Sheer number eventually won out, wrestling his tail to the ground and restraining it with the cords of the net.

Felix hissed, screeched, scratching at the dirt and anything he could reach as his fangs grew and his eyes narrowed into slits. All of it immediately disappeared the moment he eyed Pan's foot, his supposed idol standing before him, watching, _smiling_. Teeth dulling, talons retracting into his fingers, Felix reached out and grabbed Pan's foot, staring up weakly, " _Please_ ," He pleaded.

He wasn't sure what hurt more: The blade hacking away his left tailfin or Pan laughing at his misery.

 

The water was too cold for his liking, the cool stone walls of the cave refrigerating the already chilly water of the nearby river. Someone had lit a torch for him by the pit but it was hardly bright enough in the cave. At the very least, the crystals growing on the cave ceiling, scattered amongst the rigid surface like stars in the sky, provided some illumination as they bounced the light of the fire into the pit. He could barely see the sun from here so he based the time on the tinder fueling the torch.

Felix hadn't even tried to surface the pit since they threw him in, followed by bucketfuls of water tossed in haphazardly, slowly filling the pit all the way to its lip. Felix figured he could probably try to drag his way out with just his arms but it seemed like far too much hassle and he'd probably just get caught outside and lose his other tailfin.

At the thought, Felix's heart immediately stopped, a weight sitting in his chest making him sink beneath the ground. He shifted his tail, staring at the stump where his left tailfin would meet the right. The pulpy flesh at the edges only served to remind him of Pan's cruelty. He bit down on his lip as he traced the stump with his fingers, fighting the urge to flat out _sob._ He'd never be able to swim again. Pan claimed that he removed it so he couldn't swim straight but Felix knew the damage was far worse.

If he could get back to his grotto where Neverland's lifeblood ran, he could heal himself. It wasn't all over yet. But more importantly, once he got back to the grotto, _he'd rip apart everything he had of Pan's._ The boy was a monster; the mermaids really were right. He didn't even want to listen, humiliating Felix in front of the camp before mutilating him and locking him up. He'd held Pan in such high regard up to this point, was it just because he was lonely, making him tint everything Pan did in a fair, charming light?

Felix sighed heavily, clutching his tail close, the perfect replica of a human boy hugging his knees in despair.

Felix flinched when he heard something strike the water. He looked up, waiting for whatever it was to sink to the bottom only to see what appeared to be sardines floating at the top of the pit. Too afraid to use his tail and disappoint himself, Felix scaled the wall with his arms, surfacing at the edge of the pit.

"Afternoon," Pan remarked, bright smile on his face. Felix was utterly uninterested. He took the sardines and threw them right back at Pan before submerging, "Don't be like that," His voice echoed through the water.

Hoping that his apathy would disinterest Pan, Felix remained at the bottom of the pit with his arms crossed. He gasped when the ground around him began to shift, water draining at an equal pace as the ground began to lift. Once the water was all dried up, Felix found himself at level ground with Pan laying on the stone thrashing against it helplessly.

Pan merely smirked at him, sitting down on a rock so they could meet at eye level, "Don't like sardines?" He said, immediately conjuring a live salmon and tossing it into Felix's lap, "Eat up."

Felix's fangs were already growing at the sight of the salmon. He could smell the river water from it, its scales still warm from the sun. Without thinking of is company, Felix lifted the salmon to his mouth and took a huge bite, ripping off the skin and a hefty chunk of flesh with one bite. He continued _devouring_ the fish, fangs fully grown as he ripped a hole into the salmon's belly and consumed its entrails.

A small chuckle distracted him from his meal, fangs immediately retracting as he looked up to Pan who remained on his rock watching him with the utmost enjoyment, "What?" Felix asked, suddenly losing his appetite.

"Nothing, just _amused_ ," Pan replied, chuckling again when Felix glared at the emphasized term and returned to his meal.

The two sat in silence on more, Pan fixated on the savage way Felix tore apart his meal and Felix hoping that silence would prompt Pan to leave. As Felix tore open the tail, stripping away the scales, Pan let out a tiny chuckle, startling the merman from his meal, "What?" Felix asked on reflex, immediately regretting his decision.

One brow quirked, a toying smile on his face, "Syrena sent you, didn't she?"

Felix swallowed harshly. Hadn't they already gone through this before?

"She's always had far more tact than Narissa, kudos to her for guessing exactly my type," Peter remarked. Felix could have sworn that he just licked his lips.

"No one sent me," Felix tried, "I'm not with the mermaids. I'm an outcast," It was something Felix never liked admitting but he figured it might save his life.

At his words, Pan's expression immediately soured, eyes steely as he spoke, "I don't like liars. You want to keep the rest of your tail, don't you?"

Pan's cruel words sent a shudder throughout his body, his mutilated tail twitching, "I'm not lying," Felix replied, sounding firm. He gasped when Pan suddenly appeared in front of him, sliding into his field of vision from the right like a ghost slinking through the shadows. His head jerked back, a harsh grip in his hair pulling his head back forcing an unnatural angle on his neck. He growled, pupils narrowing, ready for a fight, "I'm not lying!" He repeated, almost hissing. He nearly lunged at Pan till the demon boy dangled his pearl in front of him, dried kelp replaced with a piece of twine. He was confused; why did Pan bring this here?

Pan smirked, enjoying Felix's reaction to the trinket, "The dryads created this to hide themselves from the Shadow. When I took over the island, I personally hunted down each dryad and collected every single one of these trinkets," He tightened his grip, nearly ripping out Felix's hair, "But before I could destroy them, the mermaids stole the last few from me. There aren't many left in this world, just a handful. How could you have possibly gotten one if you really were just an outcast?"

"I stole it," Felix choked out the truth. He flinched when Pan placed a hand on his tail, his gentle strokes feeling like knives scraping against the scales.

"The last mermaid who tried to deceive me was a very pretty girl. Probably thought she could seduce my boys to get to me. It worked, I guess, she ended up killing five of my boys before I caught up to her. Do you know what we did to her?" Peter cooed, sounding far too affectionate, hand gliding over where skin met scale, playing with the speckles of silver all along Felix's human torso, "We skinned her tail, plucked off _every single scale_ , then we took a cleaver and we split her tail right down the center _like a pair of legs_ ," His hand skimmed over the center of his tail, stroking at where the space between his legs would be.

Felix fought the shiver crawling up his spine, fought the urge to struggle. Pan wasn't bluffing; he heard what happened to Aria from the gossiping mermaids. He wasn't guilty. This wouldn't happen to him. He was telling the truth, _really_.

"Want to rethink your story now, _Felix_?"

"I-I…" Felix struggled to speak, almost giving into his fear and spitting out some false story which would've ended in just as grisly a fate. He slowed his breath, pupils dilating back to their normal size as he collected himself and spoke as evenly as he could, "I'm telling you the truth," When Pan lifted his hand, no doubt to cast some sort of spell, Felix took him by the wrist, stopping him, "Ask the mermaids. They'll tell you."

Peter hummed in contemplation, the hand in his hair loosening, and Felix almost thought he won for a moment. Seconds later, another hand came down, striking him across the face harshly, "Who said you're allowed to order me around?" He snapped, kicking Felix in the stomach as the ground sank, reconstructing his watery prison.

Felix rubbed at his cheek, his jaw feeling dislocated as he swore at Pan through the water, hissing obscure obscenities in his native tongue. When it was clear Pan had already left, Felix sunk back to the bottom of the pit trying to distract himself with the mangled salmon slowing sinking to the bottom. He was going to die, brutally, all because he had been infatuated with a monster. He didn't want to die like this, _all alone_ , tortured to death, tail split into two mocking imitations of human legs-

_Human legs._ Felix gasped, immediately surfacing, trying to gauge how many days had passed since he was captured. It couldn't have been much more than a day. As long as he held out till the highest tide came, he could use his legs to sneak away from the cave. _This could work_.

It wasn't hopeless. Not yet.

 

He did his best to sleep in the pit. The crystals all along the stony walls somehow prevented thick plant life from growing, limiting his resources to the moss he could scrape off the walls and the occasional vine twisting around on the stones. At best, he could lay fully stretched out on the bottom using his arm as a pillow.

He nearly fell asleep this time till something _plunked_ above him. He opened his eyes and nearly woke up to a face full of black stingers.

Swearing in his native tongue, Felix breached the surface of the pit, clutching a sea urchin in his hands and glaring at Pan who sat by the edge lobbing another sea urchin up and down, "What is wrong with you?" Felix growled.

"Thought you'd be hungry," Pan replied, the smirk on his face _aggravating_ , "And I've always wondered how you eat one of these," He said, gesturing to the sea urchin, "So, _show me._ "

He honestly didn't want to, finding solace in imagining the sea urchin sailing through the air and planting itself perfectly on Pan's forehead. But alas, petty revenge was not a part of his plan; angering Pan would do nothing for him. At the very least, he always did like sea urchin. There were pleasant memories of sitting in tide pools, ripping sea urchins off the walls one-by-one, snacking on them happily.

Talons growing, Felix flipped the sea urchin over and broke through the base with his fingers, ripping out the inedible bits and tossing them into a corner of the cave before reaching in with two fingers, scraping off the creamy flesh along the inside of the urchin, and quickly lapping it up.

Pan watched him throughout it, flipping his own sea urchin over idly, "So that's how it's done," He snickered as Felix eagerly took apart his sea urchin, licking away the orange flesh still stuck to the inside. He tossed the second sea urchin to him, watching as Felix broke it apart with the utmost efficiency, "How's it taste?"

"Amazing," Felix sighed out absently, too busy scraping up another piece of flesh before pausing, eyes glancing over to Pan. Tentatively, he extended his sea urchin to Pan, lapping up the small piece in his fingers.

Pan chuckled again, eyes warm for just a moment before looking amused, "For me?" He said in a sickeningly charming voice before reaching into the sea urchin and following Felix's movement's, scraping up a piece of orange flesh and licking it off his fingers. His nose wrinkled at the strong taste, lips pursed as he swallowed harshly. For just a brief moment, Felix forgot where he was and _laughed_ at Pan's juvenile reaction.

" _Mermaids_ ," Pan choked out spitefully, wiping at his lips with exaggerated movements.

Felix stopped laughing when Pan stood up suddenly, dusting himself off before leaving the cave. He wondered if Pan was angry at him, wondered if he was offended by his laughter. Frightened, Felix sunk back into his pit, letting the innards of the sea urchin waft away in the water. He shut his eyes, praying for the best as he slumped against a wall, yelping when he felt sharp points all along his back. He whipped around, amazed at the _wall of sea urchins_ behind him, lining a single wall from top to bottom. He had to break one open, checking to see if they were real.

This had to be a trick. Pan would never be this nice to him. He couldn't be sure though since the next time Pan appeared, the boy had brought him a bucket of live oysters, once again watching eagerly as Felix dashed them open on the rocks and slurped up the delectable flesh inside.

"It's fun watching you eat," Peter remarked from where he sat. Felix looked up from his meal, eyes narrowing in confusion, "I'm sure you've been wondering why I keep bringing you treats."

_'Treats',_ like he was a _pet_ , Felix dropped the open oyster in his hands, suddenly reminded of his shame. He had to play along, only a few days left till the Highest Tide, but he felt like he'd lose a vital part of himself if he accepted being Pan's pet. The tension left him frozen where he was, floating idly in the water staring at the half-empty bucket of oysters.

A sigh, "What's with that look?"

Felix glanced over to Pan for a second, immediately turning away from his intense glower. He sunk into the water, head just peeking out as he spoke, "I'm not your pet."

An amused chortle, "You're not? Then what do you want to be?"

_Your lost boy, your second-in-command, your friend._ Those dreams would never come to be and Felix didn't know what he could possibly say to placate Pan. Instead, he backed off from the edge and dove into the water, begging that Pan wouldn't pull him out. A loud splash startled him but his heart only truly began to race as he saw Pan descending in the water, using his magic to breathe.

"Ah, this is much better," Pan said, crossing his legs as he sat down on a protruding stone, "Now I don't have to look down when I talk. Easier on the neck," His expression betrayed no anger or frustration, just sheer amusement as Felix scuttled over to the opposite side of the pit, "Come on, tell me something interesting. And break open one of those sea urchins for me."

Too scared to disobey, Felix tore a sea urchin off the wall, clearing out its innards before handing it to Pan. His lips were pressed together, trying to find the right thing to say. Luckily, Pan gave him a topic, "Tell me about your scar."

His scar? Felix could barely remember how he got it. Some mermaid sometime in his life scraped it up with a piece of rock, coral, or steel. He figured Pan wanted to hear some magnificent battle, a rebel merman fighting against his kin and having his face disfigured by Neptune himself.

So that's exactly what he told him.

"I tried to break into Neptune's castle," Felix started, voice shaky, "To steal something to eat. I got caught by the chef so he… cut me across the face. And then I…came here to get away."

He was pausing too much, his voice too shaky, his eyes unfocused, Pan would see right through his lies. This was a stupid idea and Felix shut his eyes tightly, waiting for Pan to berate and punish him.

Pan chuckled instead, swinging his legs over the other, crossing the opposite leg, "Very interesting. Tell me more."

Somehow it worked and that was all the confidence he needed to continue on, weaving long tales that were too spectacular to be real, describing Atlantis despite never have been there, talking about sisters who never existed, killing a giant octopus that threatened Neverland. He'd contradicted himself quite a bit but Peter never pointed it out, listening along, chuckling pleasantly. Sometimes, he'd worm something real in, something just to ground his tales, and somehow, Pan always picked up on it.

Somewhere along the line, Pan had materialized a bed of sea growth beneath them, kelp twisted around like a bed. The torch had gone out so Pan created some jellyfish in the water, their fluorescent glow reflecting off the crystals like stars beneath the water. When that wasn't enough, Felix asked Pan if he could open the ceiling, letting real starlight through. Felix only noticed how much Pan invested in his home when his stomach growled, unaware that so many hours had passed between them swapping stories.

"I don't believe you," Felix said, emboldened by Peter's casual demeanor, "I think you're making that story up."

Peter smirked, brow quirking at Felix's hypocritical accusation. He leaned forward, swiping away one of the claws of Felix's lobster and breaking it open, slurping up the delicate flesh inside, "Which part don't you believe?"

"You didn't have a wife," Felix said, snickering a bit as he broke open the lobster's head with his talons, cleaning out the inside of it thoroughly with his tongue, "I saw the way you look at the females. You hate them."

For a brief moment, Peter almost looked upset. His lips curled up shortly after as he reached forward and stroked the top of Felix's head, softness in his actions and words as he spoke, "You're quite a catch, aren't you?" Felix wasn't sure how to react, staring at Pan and _confused_ by this sudden vulnerability.

Backing off and pretending like nothing happened, Peter played at being offended, "So you believe that I had a son but you don't think I had a wife?" Felix nodded, shrugging when Peter nodded towards him to elaborate, " _Fine._ If you're going to play it this way, you were lying too."

_Yes, all of it actually._ Felix didn't say anything, opting to tearing up the lobster's shell instead, "Which part?"

" _Let's see…_ " Peter hummed, kicking his legs back and forth, "You don't have a secret grotto beneath the island and you don't actually know how to sing."

Felix paused for a moment, talons halted as he stared at Pan with an incredulous look. _Both of those accusations were completely fucking true_. He wouldn't laugh, resisted it, so he opted for arrogance, "All mermaids know how to sing," He coughed, "And mermen."

Peter folded his arms, "I don't believe you," He nudged at Felix's tail with his foot, "Prove it."

_Prove it?_ Felix wasn't one to break out into song whenever he was bored; that was so _mermaid_. It didn't meant he couldn't sing though. It was rare enough to listen to a mermaid sing and live to tell the tale, it would be exponentially rarer to hear a merman's song. Chuckling, Felix prodded at Peter's chest playfully, "You just want to make me sing, don't you?"

"The more you delay, I'll just assume you can't do it," Peter replied, smirking arrogantly, "Hell if I care if you sing."

A tilt of his head, humming thoughtfully, "Okay. I won't sing then."

A beat. Peter's brows furrowing, eyes hardening, and Felix _smiled_ , knowing that he was right. Relishing his victory, Felix broke open the tail of the lobster and tore out its tail, ripping apart the pulpy flesh with his fangs. He stopped when a seashell materialized in Peter's hand, his head tilting to the side contemplatively wondering if this was another snack.

Felix shuddered as a smoky hand extended from the shell, coiling around him like a snake ready to strangle the life from his body, he dropped his meal to the ground, trying to back off but finding his whole body rooted to the ground. He looked at Pan, _absolutely terrified_ as the hand reached into his mouth, icy cold tendrils reaching down his throat, clawing away the warmth. As the smoke-like fingers withdrew, a ball of light followed, humming with a voice like the sea at dawn.

Before the smoke disappeared, Felix already knew what Pan had taken. He clutched at his throat, trying to make a sound. He stared at Pan, begging to know what he did to deserve a punishment like this. He thought Pan was having fun telling stories. They'd spent hours together, sitting beneath the water as _equals_. It was too presumptuous of Felix and almost immediately he was reminded of his missing tailfin and Pan's awful threat, phantom pain splitting his tail right down the middle.

Pan shared none of his distress, tossing the shell up and down as it hummed with magic, "That's what you get for being snippy," He remarked, patting Felix's head affectionately before disappearing.

Felix sunk into the bed of kelp, clutching at his voice trying to make a sound. He completely lost his appetite, staring up at the sky from where he sat beneath the water. He was ashamed that he thought for even a second that being _Pan's pet_ would've been a good fate.

_The highest tide_. This was it. He had been carefully calculating Pan's appearances using the position of the sun shining through the opening on the ceiling. He always came in the afternoon, sitting in the cave for hours, sometimes even well-past sunset, having a one-sided conversation with Felix. He always had plenty to talk about, the boys, Neverland, the Enchanted Forest, and Felix honestly didn't mind listening to him in silence. In hindsight, Felix realized that this was the most anyone had ever spoken to him. This was the first time anyone was so invested in him even if he could see the ill-intent in Peter's eyes. There was just the slightest tinge of regret towards his actions, a slight hatred towards himself for trying to abandon Pan.

_He'll torture you for fun. Steal your voice so you can't scream. Skin your tail. Split it into two parts._ Felix shuddered at his violent threats, using them to coerce himself to leave.

The sun was just barely rising, the sky just tinted gold from the east. The silhouette of the moon was visible from the cave, just peeking out behind the sun stained clouds. The boys would be asleep and Pan wouldn't be at his cave for hours. Scuttling up the side of the pit, Felix gently laid his elbows on the rocky edge and pulled himself up, scanning the cave for any other presence. When the coast was clear, he forced his way up the stony ridge, dragging himself by his elbows and gritting his teeth as his flesh scraped against the harsh stone. He rolled himself over, tail flapping helplessly in the air till a fine azure smoke wrapped itself around it. Felix half expected there to be pain but was pleasantly surprised when all he felt was a tingle at his toes, tail separated perfectly into a pair of legs. For a brief moment, he stared at it in amazement, eyes wide with wonder as he flexed his toes under the gentle glow of the coming sunrise.

Reminded of his goal, Felix quickly scuttled to his feet, falling over shortly after when his legs failed to move. He growled, clawing himself back off the ground as his newborn legs trembled under his weight. _Move damn it_. He hissed in his mind, forcing one shaky leg forward. Trying to part his legs and move them in asynchronous movements was utterly foreign to him.

Felix wasn't entirely sure how he managed it, cutting across the ground in a jagged path. Finally, he clung to the opening of the cave, staring out amongst the trees and glad to see Lost Boys camp far enough away so they wouldn’t be able to see him sneaking off. More importantly, he could hear the river on his right, opposite the Lost Boy camp and deep enough for him to swim off. Clinging to the stone wall, he took another step forward and cringed as his soft feet came in contact with the sharp, pebbled ground. He lost his grip on the cave, scrambling forward a few steps before collapsing into the dirt.

Felix rubbed at the sole of his foot. He'd never taken this form before so his legs were still tender from disuse. This was going to be a long night and he could only hope that he could make it to the water before the Lost Boys awoke. He pushed himself onto his feet, taking a deep breath and convincing himself mentally that he could do this. He took another step forward _and his heart nearly leapt out from his chest_.

"Fancy seeing you out here," Pan's voice cut through the silence of early dawn.

Felix gasped, heart pounding, legs trembling for a wholly different reason. Without looking back, Felix bolted, fear forcing his legs to move in passable motions. He wasn’t even sure if he was going the right direction. He was just too _afraid_ of what Pan would do if he caught him. Without thinking, he stumbled over a branch, legs immediately locking at the sudden jolt. Closing his arms around his head, Felix tumbled down the dirt floor, crashing into bushes, leaves, and branches till he fell to the bottom on his back, spitting out a stray leaf that entered his mouth.

Felix only needed a second to catch his breath but that was all Pan needed to catch up to him, leaping down the hill and pouncing on him, sitting on his stomach and holding him down by the wrists. Felix wrestled beneath him, switching between fangs and teeth, frantically trying to get away.

Peter watched him, chuckling at how his chest heaved with shouts and his lips were pulled back in a hiss but not a single sound was coming out, "Hold on," Peter said casually, reaching into his shirt and withdrawing the sea shell, breaking it with his hands and letting the smoke-like light waft its way back into Felix's throat.

"Get off me!" Felix screamed, voice halfway to a hiss as he wrestled against Pan to no avail. The demon boy had an inhuman amount of strength that Felix just could not fight against. He somehow rolled onto his stomach, wrists twisted above his head still caught in Pan's iron grip. He squirmed against the dirt, trying to worm his way out from under Pan, "Let go! Just let go!" He screamed hysterically as Pan closed in.

A hand slapped over his mouth, restraining his head as Pan closed in and petrified him with his presence, "You're waking up my boys with your screaming," Pan whispered intimately, "You don't want that. Do you?" Fearfully, Felix shook his head, "I'm going to lift my hand now but only if you promise not to scream," Peter flinched harshly, cut off when Felix suddenly sunk his fangs into his hand, burrowing deep and growling at he drew blood. For a brief moment, his feral nature took over and Felix glared at him ferociously. When Pan returned the vicious look, Felix immediately softened, "Isn't that a bit much?"

Pathetically, Felix released Peter's hand, his tongue peeking out and licking it gently. Pleased, Peter removed his hold on Felix's wrist, settling with pinning Felix down by sitting on the small of his back. Felix did nothing else knowing that he couldn't fight Pan. All he could do was wait and hope that Pan would be merciful to him.

"Didn't know today was the highest tide. I'll have to put extra boys on watch for mermaids," Pan suddenly remarked, "That's why you wanted to open up the cave for you, wasn't it?" Felix nodded, "Clever," He pressed a hand gently between Felix's shoulder blades, "You can speak, you know. What are you so afraid of?"

"Please don't split my tail," Felix blurted out dumbly. It was on his mind since the moment Pan threatened him and it haunted him for days.

Pan snickered at the remark as if he were telling a joke, "Is that what this is all about? That little threat I made?"

"You butchered my tail," Felix snapped, still remembering his mutilated fin, "And you stole my voice!"

"It was punishment for sneaking around. I had no choice. And that thing with your voice was just a joke. I would've given it back," Pan replied, tone slightly darker, "That's already passed," Felix growled in replied but Peter responded with an annoyed huff, "Let's talk about something more fun, hm?" He punctuated his hum with a gentle brush on the back of Felix's knees.

"Ah!" Felix cried out, flinching at the ticklish sensation at his leg, "Don't do that," He growled only to yelp again as Peter brushed the opposite leg.

Pan snickered at his reaction, continuing to trace his fingers gently across Felix's bare legs, "Now that you have these legs for the next twelve hours," He slid his hand up, loving how Felix's yelps became groans, "Why don't we put them to good use?"

A smoke enveloped both of them, teleporting them to Pan's tree house. Felix could tell by the slightly more extravagant furnishings compared to the slapdash look of the camp. He kicked at the sheets beneath him, the bed feeling slippery under his hands when compared to the beds of moss and sea growth he usually slept on.

Modesty had never crossed Felix's mind before but being sprawled on a bed in a fireplace-lit room with _Peter Pan_ staring at him with the utmost delight made Felix feel far too exposed. He reached for one of the furs dangling over the edge of the bed, pulling it over his lap as Pan laughed at his newfound shyness.

"Don't be scared," Pan cooed, climbing onto the bed as a bottle of what appeared to be foam materialized in his hands, "You said you used to watch me. This never crossed your mind once?"

Felix swallowed at the implications. He wasn't even sure what _this_ was but he figured it must've had something to do with the endless fantasies of pulling Pan beneath the waves, shoving him against a rock, mangling his lips with his own, marking him, _claiming him_ , and _something_ in-between which he had yet to understand. All he knew was that his new body craved it, a pleasant heat building at his loins tempting him to touch and relieve himself.

As Felix struggled with his new problem, Pan poured the contents of the bottle onto a stray piece of cloth. He snuck close to Felix, gently lowering the boy onto his back with one hand before smothering him with the damp cloth.

Felix yelped into the cloth, hands grabbing at Pan's and trying to wrestle him off. He inhaled accidentally during his struggles, picking up the saltiness of the sea, the tangy scent of rotting moss and seaweed plus the musty smell of sand. Distracted by the oddness, Pan rolled Felix onto his stomach, restraining him as he continued smothering his nose and mouth with the damp cloth.

"What's…on that?" Felix groaned, suddenly feeling light-headed.

Pan chuckled, nuzzling into Felix and loving the sudden heat coming from his skin, "You don't know much about your own lore, do you?" The boy refused to answer, his heart suddenly pounding in his ear and he began to shudder at the slightest touch from Pan. The heat between his legs was building, _aching_ , almost painful, "To _encourage_ procreation, the sea foam from when the tide is highest becomes an _aphrodisiac_ for mermaids," Peter's eyes glowed as Felix arched his back beneath him, shuddering once more, "I'm guessing it applies to mermen as well," He hummed appreciatively when Felix failed to respond, talon digging into the bed beneath him as his body continued to tremble, "Can you hear me, Felix?"

Pan's voice sounded like an echo as if he were talking to him through a glass case. The pounding in his ears, the pleasant ache between his thighs, Felix could barely keep his eyes open, eyelids sliding shut at every throb of his hardening cock. He'd never felt like this before, humiliated, aroused, the need to run but raw desire keeping him in place. He cried out as Pan's hand slapped against his ass, shattering the glass between them and sending a shock of pain and pleasure riding throughout his body, every muscle trembling in reaction. The cloth was removed but the air was still suffocating.

Slowly, Pan rolled Felix over, snickering as the boy's hands remained buried in the mattress, unable to control his feral side, "How are you feeling?" He asked, tracing a hand across Felix's cheek, fingers ghosting over his nose in a calculated manner so Felix could memorize his scent.

Groaning, Felix purred as Peter caressed his face. He found himself nosing at the palm of his hand, following it unconsciously. He giggled as it prodded at a freckle on his cheek, turning into it and extending a tongue to lap at the digit. Pan smelled _really good_ and it made him want so badly in a way he couldn't describe.

Smirking, Peter closed in when Felix sucked on his finger, unconsciously holding back his teeth submissively, "Tell me you want-" Peter never finished, Felix hooking an arm behind his neck and cutting him off with a harsh kiss, rolling Peter onto the mattress and grinding their hips together like he'd been doing this for years. Growling in dominance, Peter shoved Felix down, quickly following after him and reasserting his position on top before pressing back another harsh kiss, teeth ripping at Felix's mouth, claiming him.

Felix responded in kind to the brutal kiss, talons coming up and scraping Peter's back bloody, biting back. He broke the kiss and latched himself onto Peter's neck, puncturing it with his fangs before lapping at it lovingly, pressing his scent into Peter's skin. He gasped and loosened as Peter ground his hips down, human pleasure unknown to him and knocking him out of his feral instincts briefly.

Loving Felix's reaction, Peter forced Felix's lips back, drawing Felix's tongue from its mouth and wrestling it with his own, memorizing the almost mint-like taste of the merman's mouth. He grabbed Felix's thighs, guiding his legs around him before dipping between his knees and stroking at his cock. Felix threw his head back involuntarily, rocking into the sensation and crying out helplessly, voice rendered high and incoherent. Encouraged by Felix's docility, Peter dipped a second hand between his legs, sliding past his cock and inserting one finger right down to the knuckle. Felix screamed at the intrusion, erection already leaking onto Peter's hands acting as a makeshift lubricant.

Peter's eyes shone when Felix came in his hands, voice high and eyes tightly shut as come splattered all over Peter's fingers. He chuckled, lapping a drop away on his finger before smearing it over Felix's stomach, "Just from my fingers? Really?" He chuckled again when Felix's hands came up over his face, covering up the crimson flush of his cheeks, "Tsk, tsk, don't do that," Peter scolded, taking Felix's wrists and holding his hands apart so he could examine his face. If anything, the orgasmic flush only made him more beautiful to look at, "Hey, was that your first orgasm?"

Felix didn't know how to answer, his mind still trying to catch up with his body. The last thing he could remember was the taste of Peter's blood on his lips, pressing the boy down onto the bed and compressing him with his weight, imagining that he was dragging the boy beneath the water to keep him forever. He flexed his wrists against Peter's grip, groaning a bit when Peter leaned in and kissed him again, his tongue poking through, tasting Felix's mouth. Had Felix been more coherent, he would've bit through his tongue right there. Instead, he returned the kiss, the grip on his wrists eventually disappearing allowing him to weave his arms around Peter's body and pull him in.

"And that was just a little foam," Peter commented, lips still pressed against Felix's. His eyes narrowed as he contemplated, a smile stretching across his lips hungrily, " _I wonder…_ "

Felix mumbled weakly, mind finally processing Peter's words, "Wonder what?"

Peter snickered to himself. The merman was finally coherent again, "We wait thirty minutes. Then I'll show you."

As he agreed, thirty minutes later they appeared on the coastline, the sunrise just at the horizon blanketing them with its warmth. Peter lay Felix down in the sand, sitting on his hips to deter him from trying to escape. It didn't seem to matter, Felix was still far too high to notice where he was.

"Hey, Felix," Peter hummed, patting him on the cheek, immediately getting pulled in for a kiss. Chuckling, Peter pulled away, guiding Felix's arms around him, "Hang onto me, okay?" A ghost of a smile on Felix's face, the boy nodded back, clutching onto Peter with all his strength. A serpent's smile stretched across Peter's face, brow quirking in excitement, " _Alright, here we go._ "

Before Felix could understand what was going on, _a wave crashed down on them,_ soaking the two of them from head to toe. Felix's tail didn't return, Peter's presence between them preventing it but for a brief moment, the water gave him clarity and he could see Peter in his arms, hair tossed throughout the water, _more beautiful than anything he'd ever seen_. For that brief moment while his mind was still lucid, he intentionally forgot about everything Pan had threatened him with and embraced _Peter_.

Once the tide washed back into the sea, only Peter and Felix remain on the sand, thoroughly soaked with Felix half-submerged in sea foam. The fresh, salty scent mixed with the natural air utterly blew his mind, his whole body convulsing and tensing against Peter's body, rock-hard in seconds without a single bit of contact. Felix threw his head back and moaned, beckoning for Peter to continue.

Whipping his head back, hair thoroughly soaked, Peter took Felix by the thighs and thrust into him, using magic to lubricate and hold Felix off till he was ready. He held Felix against the sand, hips snapping forward in a harsh but steady rhythm while Felix _clawed into his back_ , eyes dilating as he fought to keep his feral desires in check. Peter played along, kissing Felix with teeth, tongue, and everything he could to match Felix's violence. All throughout their power play, nails ripping into one another, Peter losing control of the waves, letting the water crash down on both of them rocking them closer together and drowning Felix in his natural element, Peter kept thrusting his hips, kept fucking him throughout this entire torrent of animalistic desire.

Felix could only find relief when he felt Peter quickening his pace, hips snapping up in irregular intervals, the waves crashing upon them uncontrollably. He knew Peter wouldn't let him come until he was ready, knew he was holding him back with magic, but he _needed it so badly_ , and he just couldn't find the right words to beg so he hooked his legs around Peter, threw his head back into the sand and screamed, " _Peter!_ "

Hearing his name, letting the passion take over, Peter quickened his thrust, eyes shutting and back arching as he came inside of him, claiming Felix. Almost immediately, Felix came _hard_ , his mind simply shutting down as he _screamed_ , letting Peter wash him out to sea. At last, when Peter began to calm down, the water began to settle, no longer smashing against their bodies. In his last moment of consciousness, Felix laughed a bit, realizing that Peter Pan really did have complete control of this island. He shut his eyes, head lolling to the side as he fell asleep.

Throughout it all, Peter watched Felix, poised above him as he wiped away the sand smudged on his pale cheek. He smiled lightly, understanding that Felix could have tried to escape but purposely stayed behind whether he was fully aware of it or not. There was a kind scent that wafted from Felix's skin when mixed with the seawater like a gentle perfume of wild mint and the sea at dawn. Peter pressed his lips against Felix's neck, memorizing that scent before lifting the boy from the shallow water, carrying him back home.

 

It felt like a whale had run him over when Felix awoke, his head light and his limbs heavy. He rolled around in bed, collecting all of the blanket over himself. The open air was too cold and too hot at the same time, nothing like the sea which would cover him at all times. He nearly fell back asleep till he realized where he was.

The fireplace in the corner put out, curtains pulled over the windows, animal furs decorating the bed and the floor, _this was Peter Pan's treehouse_. Felix's eyes snapped open, everything coming back to him including the violent threats Pan had made against him, the fear of mutilation relevant again. He squirmed his way off the bed, fighting with the blanket he accidentally tangled around his legs.

A hand on his wrist stopped him and additionally, scared the hell out of him, "No. Stay in bed with me."

Felix hollered at the contact, kicking at the sheets and wrestling away till he toppled off the bed and onto the floor, squirming around helplessly trying to untangle his legs. Peter sat up slowly, wiping away the sleep from his eyes and trying to smooth out his sea-slicked hair.

"I didn't mean to run away!" Felix cried out, pathetically squirming away on the ground with the blanket still wrapped around him, " _Please don't split my tail_."

Peter huffed loudly and Felix wasn't sure how to react to that, "Still on about that? I'm not going to split your tail," He swung his legs over the side of the bed, materializing a pair of pants over his hips, "Even after all we did together? Kinky mermaid sex on the beach?"

Felix reddened at the reminder and immediately turned away, unsure if he was excited or horrified. That was the most amazing night of his entire life, his very first time despite years of fantasizing about Peter Pan. Suddenly, that shrine hidden at the bottom of the island didn't seem so shameful or pathetic.

"I just… I'm running out of time," Felix stuttered out, gesturing to his legs, "Can you bring me back to my cave?"

Peter snickered lightly, smiling to him from the bed, "You're not going back to the cave, despite how nice I made it for you. You're staying here with me," He gestured to the feathers tied to Felix's hair dangling from his left ear, "As long as you have those on, you'll keep your legs."

Felix was…confused. What had changed between them other than the sex? Felix shook his head, unable to understand, "What?" He dumbly choked out.

"I asked the mermaids," Peter answered, "I asked them a couple days ago when they tried to attack my boys on the beach," His gaze met the floor, voice suddenly bitter, "They called you an abomination. _I took offense to that_ ," He said, voice sharp with an arrogant smirk. Felix could already imagine the stone statues sitting at the bottom of the ocean, forever petrified with horrified expressions.

Felix could only stare at Peter, letting all those feelings he had for him resurface after trying to suppress them for the last few days. The magical boy approached him, kneeling to Felix on the ground so he could stare into his eyes, "So, I'm a Lost Boy now?" He asked, tone still cautious.

Peter smiled, still arrogant, still pompous, but softer now, "Not quite," He said in a light tone, "First, you still need to get walking right. And some clothes. Wouldn't want the boys to get a good look at your body. _Only I get that privilege_."

This was it. This was what Felix had been waiting for all his life. He nearly agreed, ready to meet the Lost Boys on equal footing and not strung up in a net. He stopped though, remembering something he ought to show Pan, "Before that," He said, calling Pan's attention, "I want to show you something."

The boy walked him to the coast where Felix took off his feathers and strung them up on the branch of a tree safe from the crashing waves. He dove into the water, tail materializing as he returned to the surface. He tumbled in the water at first, remembering his missing tailfin and the loss of control that came with it. He made a few quick circles in the lagoon, recalibrating his swimming techniques to compensate for the imbalance.

"Need help with that?" Peter asked, feet dangling over the pink shale stone.

Felix shook his head, surfacing before grabbing Peter's foot and yanking him into the water, chuckling as he dragged Peter well under the tide and kissed him, the magic of a mermaid's kiss allowing him to breathe underwater. He knew Peter didn't need it having seen the boy breathe under water with his own magic but Felix couldn't resist. From what he could tell, Peter couldn't either, holding on a bit longer, enjoying the kiss a bit too much before letting go. Under the waves, Felix pulled Peter along, weaving through the stone and ancient sea life that existed beneath the island. It was almost like flying but heavier. It made Peter wonder if Felix would enjoy flying and already, he contemplated touring the island via flight.

Shaking him from his thoughts, Felix coiled one arm around Peter, smiling to him and nodding upwards at the narrow path they would take. Slowly, he weaved past the sea growth and stone till both of them surfaced in a pitch black grotto lit only by the briefest crack of light coming from the trickling water of Neverland at the far corner.

"I can't see anything," Peter remarked, about to create a ball of light until Felix pulled his hand back under the water. A bit perturbed, Peter watched Felix press his hand against the moss on the wall, amazed when his hand left a glowing handprint against it, spreading throughout the moss and lighting up all the glow worms hidden amongst the growth. Peter definitely wasn't amazed, definitely wasn't impressed, despite what his gaping jaw and wordlessness implied.

"So the grotto really was real…"

Felix waded over to the shallow end of the grotto, taking a bit of Neverland's water into his hands and drinking it, fixing his tail. He smiled to Peter, extending his arms out, "This is my home. I thought you should know."

Peter smiled lightly, swimming over to him and smoothing back his sopping wet hair. His eyes immediately fell upon the multitude of belongings stacked all around the grotto, some nailed to the moss. He figured they were Felix's belongings until closer inspection revealed that they were _his_. His mouth gaped once more, picking up a straw doll he had thrown out days after he came to Neverland, magically preserved from the water.

"How long have you been following me?" Peter chuckled, tossing the doll back into its corner.

Felix shrugged, "A long time."

Peter snickered, wading over to Felix, hands settling against his hips gliding over the shimmering scales. If only sooner had he noticed, if only he hadn't terrorized the mermaids so harshly, scaring Felix away from ever approaching, he could've had this utterly loyal boy sooner, "Quite a catch," He commented, smirking.

Under the gentle light of the glow worms, in the close quarters of his grotto, the peaceful sound of Neverland's lifeblood trickling behind him, Felix almost dared to call this situation romantic. He didn't bother, merely closing in and pressing a kiss to Peter's lips, no teeth, just human and soft. He took Peter's hand, diving back into the water, leaving his lonely, miserable grotto behind.


End file.
